Of all the jazz musicians who have been idolized as a genius… Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Michael Brecker… arguably none has been deified as much as John Coltrane. Both literally (there is the Saint John Coltrane Church in San Francisco) and figuratively, in the sense that his genius is treated as something superhuman, Godly.

And it’s understandable why. His playing is spiritually uplifting, technically astounding, musically sublime and groundbreaking. (If you need a taste, have a listen
here
or
here
.)

It might be tempting to assume that he was born a musical genius. Fortunately, there’s a recording of a 19-year-old Coltrane that dispels that notion:

Coltrane plays “Hot House” at age 19.

This informal recording, cued up here to Coltrane’s solo, was made at a jam session with fellow Navy musicians while they were stationed in Hawaii in 1946. Coltrane is playing alto sax. As you can hear, his playing has almost none of the qualities of his later playing: his time is inconsistent, his tone is weak, his ideas aren’t fully developed, his lines don’t seem to know where they’re headed. At times he’s not even making the changes.

Certainly far from Coltrane’s finest hour. Who knows, maybe it was a particularly bad day for him or he was just learning the changes to the tune. But one thing is clear: he is stumbling in a way that we never remotely hear in any later recordings.

I’d have to be a total asshole to be sharing this, right? I mean, who wants to be judged on how they sounded as a teenager? (Certainly not me.)

Yep. Except that, of course, I have nothing but enormous reverence for the man and his music, and what the recording shows us is such an amazing testament to him. And such a valuable lesson for us too.

It shows us the huge extent to which Coltrane created himself. His practice habits were nothing short of legendary. There are many stories of him practicing all day, heading off to play a long gig, practicing in the back room during the breaks, and heading home to practice a couple more hours before bed.

This recording gives us proof that someone can sound like a struggling amateur at age nineteen (1946) and sound a few years later like the John Coltrane who was touring with Dizzy Gillespie (1949), and with the Miles Davis Quintet (1955). Holy shit.

Being “born” John Coltrane is nothing anyone can take credit for. Not even Coltrane. But transforming the player we hear in the recording into the John Coltrane whose music we know—now that’s an astounding accomplishment. That he could make it happen speaks to his discipline and dedication, and to his incredible love of the music.

If we love the music as much as he did, and practice as much, who is to say that we can’t have similar results?

Whenever I hear this track I find it inspiring. I hope it gives you some inspiration too.

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2 Responses

Saúlsays:

July 12, 2018 at 8:31 pm

Hello Anton! i recently found your site while searching for approaches to sus chords improvising, and i have to say this article really inspired me, im often worried I don’t progress as much as i’d want to, but this is a life expierence i definitly enjoy!
Loved your blog, cheers!

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NEWS FLASH!

I'm proud to announce that the Random Roots app is now available on the App Store for iPhone/iPad. It's the culmination of a year's work, and I feel it's a game changer for players looking to deepen their musicianship and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their practice.

NEWS FLASH!

I'm proud to announce that the Random Roots app is now available on the App Store for iPhone/iPad. It's the culmination of a year's work, and I feel it's a game changer for players looking to deepen their musicianship and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their practice.